Taxes and charitable giving

This article reviews the basic mechanisms of federal tax incentives, the cu rrent level, sources and recipients of charitable donations, and the estima ted magnitude of the response to tax incentives, In addition, we discuss th e possible effects of recent tax proposals on charitable giving. These prop osals include changing the marginal rate structure, allowing taxpayers usin g the standard deduction to reduce taxable income by the amount of their co ntributions, and repealing the estate tax.